


Better Than Expected

by AgentDaisyMaximoff



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-03-27
Packaged: 2018-10-11 10:07:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10462392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentDaisyMaximoff/pseuds/AgentDaisyMaximoff
Summary: Daisy's blind date stands her up, but Pietro comes to the rescue.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Panthisia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Panthisia/gifts), [ozhawk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ozhawk/gifts).



> (This is an AU based on a tumblr writing prompt. I'll likely expand on it later but for now it's a one-shot. Note: Daisy and Bucky are relatives in this AU)

Daisy tapped her fingers impatiently against the table, checking her phone for what felt like the millionth time. She couldn’t believe it. Not even a message explaining why he was late. Darcy had recommended this one so highly, too. It was why she’d agreed to go on a blind date, even though she absolutely couldn’t stand them.  
She picked up her phone again and shot an angry text off to Darcy. _told you I hated blind dates. He’s over an hour late, Darce._  
“Ready to order yet, darling?” The waitress, a petite older woman with a heavy Irish accent, appeared at her side just as she pressed send. “You must be getting hungry. I’m sure the gentleman will forgive you for starting without him.”  
Daisy pressed her lips together. Even the waitress knew she’d probably been stood up. She wanted to scream. Instead she shook her head. “Just a little longer. I’m sure it’s just…traffic, or something.”  
“Would you like a drink, at least, dear?”  
Daisy looked at the wine menu. “Sure. Which of these do you recommend?”  
The waitress smiled. “It partially depends on what you think you’ll be having. Reds pair well with beef, of course. And whites tend to be sweeter, so we usually recommend them with chicken or fish.”  
Daisy glanced at her. “Um…what the hell, let’s be adventurous. I’ll try the pinot noir.”  
The waitress nodded and walked away as Daisy’s phone buzzed. She clicked open Darcy’s response. _That’s weird. I told him 7 pm. Michael is usually more punctual than this._  
_Yeah, well, he’s not answering my messages either. I’m fairly certain I’ve been stood up._  
She set her phone down as the waitress set the glass of wine beside her hand. The woman had a smile on her face, but damn if Daisy couldn’t sense the pity oozing off the woman. “Here you are, darling. Any word from your gentleman friend?”  
Daisy shrugged and took a swallow of wine. It was a little more bitter than she had expected, but anything was better than the bitterness of being stood up. The waitress tutted and moved off to another table, leaving Daisy with her thoughts and her buzzing phone.  
_Fuck. I’m really sorry, Daisy, he’s never done this before. I’ll try to call him._  
_Don’t bother._ Daisy took another sip of the wine before continuing the message. _I’m just going to finish my wine and then head out. It’s not even worth it anymore._  
She turned her phone off before getting Darcy’s reply. She was tired, and didn’t have the energy to deal with the excuses. She knew Darcy meant well, but it still hurt, knowing that this friend of hers didn’t even think Daisy was worth a phone call.  
She felt tears pricking her eyes, and she rubbed at them angrily. Damn it, she wasn’t going to let some asshole make her cry. The waitress was back too, and she had such a look of pity on her face that Daisy felt ready to explode. She bit down on her lip hard, tasting blood, but she refused to make a scene.  
“Hey.” The voice was male, and accented. She didn’t remember Darcy mentioning Michael having an accent, and Darcy definitely would have mentioned that. She looked up at the blonde gentleman standing by the table, an apologetic smile on his face. “I’m so sorry I’m late, traffic was a nightmare. And I forgot my phone, so I couldn’t even let you know. If you want to just call it a night, I understand.”  
“I…” Daisy chewed on her lip for a moment. If this was Michael, she wanted to rip him a new one, stick him with the likely expensive wine bill, and storm out. But maybe…maybe she could give him a chance. “Are you…?”  
He looked at the waitress. “Could you give us just a few more moments while I apologize profusely to the lady and look at the menu? I’ll have a glass of whatever she’s drinking, to start. In fact, bring the whole bottle.”  
The waitress nodded and walked off, and he turned back to Daisy. “Whoever you’re waiting for, I’m not him. My name is Pietro. You just looked so upset, I couldn’t bear it. Were you waiting for a boyfriend?”  
“Blind date.” Daisy swallowed, nearly in tears from the sheer relief of his appearance. “God, I’ve been waiting for over an hour, and he never even called me.”  
Pietro extended a hand. “Well, then, tonight, I’m your blind date. What’s your name?”  
“Daisy.” She smiled tremulously at him. “Please sit down.”  
He did so, as the waitress returned with a second glass and the pinot bottle. “Here we are darlings. I’ll be back shortly for your orders.” She winked at Daisy. “He’s a handsome lad, dearie. I hope he was worth the wait.”  
Daisy blushed as the woman vanished. “Oh, my god.” She hid behind her menu.  
Pietro chuckled and poured himself a glass of wine. “I like her.” He looked at the menu. “I’ve never eaten here before. What do you recommend?”  
“Um…” She stared at the menu, though she was stealing surreptitious glances at him more than deciding on food. “Well, red meat goes with red wine, I’ve heard, so maybe a steak? Or a filet mignon or something of that like?”  
“Well, I know what steak is, so…” Pietro shrugged. “I’ll have whatever you have, I guess.”  
The waitress reappeared just then. “Are we ready, then, dears?”  
Daisy wasn’t ready to relinquish the menu, not when she was using it to sneak glances of the handsome man sitting across the way, but she figured that the poor woman had put up with her enough. She closed her menu. “I’ll have the porterhouse, medium rare, with a loaded baked potato, whatever the vegetable of the day is, and a Caesar salad to start, please.”  
The waitress nodded and looked at Pietro. He smiled. “I’ll have exactly the same as the lovely lady.”  
Smiling, the waitress took their menus and vanished from the table. Pietro smiled at Daisy. “So, tell me about yourself.”  
“Um…” This was another part of dating that she absolutely hated. The whole getting to know you thing was necessary, but it was awkward as hell. “Well, what do you want to know?”  
He topped off her glass and poured himself some wine. “Okay, I’ll start. My name is Pietro Maximoff, I live with my sister because the rent’s cheaper that way. We have three cats and a dog who thinks he’s a damn cat.”  
Daisy laughed. “Let me guess, the cats raised him?”  
“Yeah.” Pietro grinned. “You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen a full size pit bull fold himself up to fit in a tiny box. I guarantee you’ll find it hilarious.”  
“Maybe you’ll show me, sometime.” Daisy took a sip of her wine. “Well, my name is Daisy Barnes. I share a nice sized house with my friend Darcy, my brother Bucky, Darcy’s platonic girlfriend Jane, and Bucky’s non-platonic boyfriend Steve. Also with Steve’s ex-girlfriend Natasha, because she pays for the Netflix and it’s not like she and Steve broke up on bad terms or anything. Steve’s just gay. And I think she and Darcy might be seeing each other anyway. Did I mention it’s a big house? We also have four cats, Bucky’s Chihuahua, Steve’s python, which is actually a snake and not a euphemism, and Darcy for some reason decided to get a pair of rats last week, so there’s those too.”  
She broke off, realizing that she was rambling. “I’m sorry. I should stop, huh?”  
“No.” Pietro grinned at her. “I like learning about your family. It makes my life with Wanda look kind of boring.”  
Daisy looked down as the salad arrived. “So, can you be honest with me right up front, since this is just a pity date? You’ve got a girl somewhere, don’t you?”  
“Nope.” Pietro smiled. “Actually, I was supposed to be meeting my sister here, but I saw you and I wanted to see if I could help. I texted Wanda, she said she understood. But I’m single.”  
Daisy shook her head. “Someone as great as you? No way.”  
“Well, what about you?” Pietro took a bite of the salad. “You’re an interesting woman. How are you single?”  
“Well, the ex-Army older brother tends to scare some off, and Darcy runs the rest out. Plus, my last boyfriend kind of turned out to be psychotic, so there’s that. I guess I got gun-shy, but Darcy insisted that I start seeing someone and recommended her friend Michael. He was a bust. But I got to meet you, so that’s a bonus.”  
They ate their salad in silence for a while. It wasn’t until the waitress brought the main course that Pietro reached across the table and touched her hand. “So. I know this started kind of weird, but could we maybe consider this a first date?”  
Daisy giggled. “Does that mean there will be a second?”  
“I hope so.” Pietro smiled as he began eating. “I’m definitely interested.”

~o0o~

She felt bad, later, that they didn’t leave the restaurant until nearly midnight. The place closed at eleven, and the staff was cordial, but still, she felt bad. But they’d been having such a good time that she couldn’t bear to see it end. Pietro had even picked up the tab, though she slipped the waitress a decent cash tip for dealing with her.  
Now, they were standing by her car, in no hurry to say goodnight. Pietro had found an ice cream place that was still open, so they were leaning on the car eating ice cream cones and flirting shamelessly. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much fun on a date.  
Finally, Pietro checked his phone and sighed. “Damn. It’s almost one am, and I have to be at work at seven.”  
“Oh my god!” Daisy looked at him. “Why didn’t you say something? We didn’t have to stay out so late.”  
“But I was enjoying myself.” He smiled at her. “You’re good company. I think…I think we should do this again.”  
Daisy nodded. “Agreed.” Her night had started badly, but she was definitely glad that Michael hadn’t shown up. “Let me see your phone, I’ll give you my number.”  
He handed it over, and she programmed herself into it. “There. Just text me later, and I’ll add you to mine. It’s off right now.”  
He nodded and put the phone away, suddenly shy. “Okay. I’m really glad you had fun.”  
“You saved my night.” Daisy beamed at him and moved closer. “I’m really grateful you stepped in when you did.”  
He looked away, blushing slightly. “It really wasn’t…” He trailed off and looked at her. “Can I kiss you?”  
“I was afraid you’d never get around to that.”  
He leaned in, hesitant at first, but growing bolder quickly. She pulled him closer, and they stayed intertwined for several moments.  
Finally, he pulled back. “I really should get going. But I can’t wait until next time.”  
She smiled and kissed him again. “Me too.”

~o0o~

Once he was gone, Daisy got into her car and turned her phone back on. She had several missed calls from Darcy, a series of increasingly frantic texts, one indifferent email from Michael that she skimmed and deleted, and a new message from an unknown number. She smiled as she opened it.  
_I’m really glad you had a good time tonight. It was worth it to make you smile. Counting the days until I see you again. Pietro._  
Grinning, she started the car and dialed Darcy. “Hey, I know it’s late, but you’re never going to believe what just happened.”


End file.
